Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor implied. If you could repeat previously discredited memes or steer the conversation into irrelevant, off topic discussions, it would be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous.

“Analysts at FBR Capital Markets said in a note to clients that the bank’s announcement demonstrates that the issue may be “overblown.”

“‘The basis for our foreclosure decisions is accurate,’ Dan Frahm, a Bank of America spokesman, said in announcing the bank’s new approach.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I’m sure these bastards are lying. I’m sure there was AT LEAST ONE error among the 30,000 foreclosure they had going….I mean c’mon, BAC is the largest bank in this field….

AN..TIC..IPATION! I’m wondering if you are going to get more than a “One Minute Sound Byte.” This show is going on so long with stuff that causes me to remember why I never watch Kudlow…that it’s giving me HIVES!

WHEN IS BARRY ON! I feel I’m watching in a prison where I want to BREAK FREE from KUDLOW!

I think because it gets a view you have out there to his Conservative Audience…and it’ worth a try to get out there.

But, to me, it’s ABOVE and BEYOND a call of duty to sit in the “Green Room” cooling your heals and taking time from Wife ….or family just to have ONE MINUTE OF AIR TIME!

But, this is far better than BR appearing before a Shill Senate Committee where he’d have some fame…but little input. His input is probably better on Kudlow…but getting that train back to his home tonight after this is a greater sacrifice than many would want to make.

It’s a CONUNDRUM……..for BR and others called up by the GRAND WIZARDS OF CNBC..to get TRUTH OUT…..

Well…I like both you and Chris Whalen for reads…..but the “smell” from Kudlow’s Think Tank Ops…would be much too hard to deal with. Putting both you guys on at the last…where neither could get enough time to discuss was crude of the Kudlow. Having Michelle Caruso Cabrera on (she funded by other Think Tank Interests) and the rest of his show…was just a headache.

Thanks for being on there…you made some points, Whalen made some points….but, I’d love to listen to a show with both of you on with maybe a “third party” …to gain something.

Good on You and Chris for giving up “family time” to appear on that POS Show!

“Analysts at FBR Capital Markets said in a note to clients that the bank’s announcement demonstrates that the issue may be “overblown.”

“‘The basis for our foreclosure decisions is accurate,’ Dan Frahm, a Bank of America spokesman, said in announcing the bank’s new approach.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I’m sure these bastards are lying. I’m sure there was AT LEAST ONE error among the 30,000 foreclosure they had going….I mean c’mon, BAC is the largest bank in this field…

———-

Andy T….do you Truly Believe that this is just “a few bad apples?” Seriously…. Can you not see the evidence as something besides some kind of “Partisan Obfuscation?

WHY? I’d really like to hear how you can refute evidence about this.. What are your sources that counteract what TBP and NC have given ample link to.

It’s good to hear from naysayers like you for DISCUSSION …and if you have counter articles …then for enlightenment.

Here’s a little more “color” on that sympathetic family, the Earls, who broke back into their homes because it was ‘stolen’ from them. The “crowd query” from last week pointed these folks out as people who were hurt by “foreclosure-gate.”

Bank of America reviewed 102,000 foreclosures in the 23 states where a court must sign off on the proceedings, and it is now restarting the process on those cases, the company said Monday.

The company said the first of the new affidavits will be submitted by Oct. 25, and that it will continue its review in 27 other states.

According to a spokeswoman for the bank, no errors were found during the review, and fewer than 30,000 foreclosure sales across all 50 states will be delayed as a result of the investigation.

This is rather curious, since there is evidence of Bank of America foreclosing in the name of Bank of America (meaning Bank of America is presented as the owner of the loan) when the loan was originated by Countrywide and Countrywide provided testimony that 96% of its mortgages were securitized (meaning the owner should be a trust, not a bank). It’s an interesting anomaly that only the 4% of the mortgages Note also the peculiar emphasis on “fewer than 30,000″ which presumably means nearly 30% are being delayed.

This does not address the underlying question we keep raising: why did the servicers and foreclosure mills rely on robo signers? We had indicated from the get go that the real issue is attempting to put the notes into the trust far too late from the standpoint of what is permitted by the pooling and servicing agreement. This problem is fundamental and remains unresolved.

@Takbak. My views have been pretty consistent the last week during all this stuff:

a) The way in which some of these firms, like the Government-owned and tax payer financed credit pumping GSEs, conducted parts of the foreclosure process is pretty appalling. It’s wrong and laws were broken. Either civil or criminal fraud action should be taken.

b) The number of families who were WRONGFULLY evicted while they were current on a mortgage is probably quite small.

c) The number of families who were WRONGUFLLY evicted AND forced out of their property is even smaller than that. In the “crowd query” from last week, I only read about a few cases that fit this category. Admittedly, that’s even too many.

d) This is more of a Title issue for the next set of homeowners who come to purchase the foreclosed properties. Given the HUGE amount of press/blog coverage on this issue, the next set of buyers will be much more vigilant in terms of verifying the clear Title, which will, in effect, help the issue going forward.

e) Private industry, namely the Title Insurance companies and the banks, are working out/resolving the key issues around title and warranties on title.

The fact that BAC, one of the largest lenders in the country, feels confident enough about the process, even amid the media/blogosphere histrionics, is interesting. I hope it means that the things are working out for the better and that very few Americans were wrongly foreclosed on.

And, as a final parting thought, just want to add that all the various comments in the last week from some of you folks has been quite “interesting” and “revealing” in many ways…. Best of Luck to All.

ANDY T: What do you think of this latest? Damned thing sounds like Enron all over again! Cute Catchy names by the Banksters …. Do we have some kind of adolescents that keep perpetuating this cutesiness into our Financial System? BIG BANKS disguising their Names to get profits and say they are “helping the states” get back tax revenue that the states say they they can’t afford to hire (instate of their own populatio) to do? Something smell bad here? Remember the Sharp Guys at Enron? But, Banks pretending they are LLC’s with cute names……….. How far does this go? Be sure to read the whole thing…the snips I could give don’t do it justice!

Nearly a dozen major banks and hedge funds, anticipating quick profits from homeowners who fall behind on property taxes, are quietly plowing hundreds of millions of dollars into businesses that collect the debts, tack on escalating fees and threaten to foreclose on the homes of those who fail to pay.

The Wall Street investors, which include Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase & Co., have purchased from local governments the right to collect delinquent taxes on several hundred thousand properties, many in distressed housing markets, the Huffington Post Investigative Fund has found.

In many cases, the banks and hedge funds created new companies to do their bidding. They gave the companies obscure, even whimsical names and used post office boxes as their addresses, masking Wall Street’s dominant new role as a surrogate tax collector.

In exchange for paying overdue real estate taxes, the investors gain legal powers from local governments to collect the debt and levy fees. At first, property owners may owe little more than a few hundred dollars, only to find their bills soaring into the thousands. In some jurisdictions, the new Wall Street tax collectors also chase debtors over other small bills, such as for water, sewer and sidewalk repair.

Some states allow the investors to tack on as much as 18 percent interest and a passel of legal fees and other charges. When property owners fail to make full payment, the investors can sue to foreclose – in some states within as little as six months.

In June, Bank of America snatched up liens on properties in Florida owned by low-income residents and nonprofit public interest groups, including a Salvation Army shelter, a preschool and a wildlife rescue group involved in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill cleanup, the Investigative Fund found in its examination. Bank of America also bought liens on properties of the wealthy, including a professional basketball star with the Los Angeles Lakers, Lamar Odom.

@Takbak. My views have been pretty consistent the last week during all this stuff:

a) The way in which some of these firms, like the Government-owned and tax payer financed credit pumping GSEs, conducted parts of the foreclosure process is pretty appalling. It’s wrong and laws were broken. Either civil or criminal fraud action should be taken.

———-

I did read you on “that other site” where I lurk. I found your comments interesting from your perspective since I can understand much of what you say…but, I sometimes think that you can insulate yourself from other views given where you live…which is much like where I live where times are not yet so terrible…and that you are solvent as am I and that you are “still in the game” and not seeing things around you …yet…which might influence you in another direction.

I do feel that the “partisan lens” that we view things with depends on how expensive our camera is these days, though. I hop you will think about that…what I mean by that.

There’s mounting evidence that some BAD STUFF has been done…and that there are many who are in denial about what we are faced with in this country that goes beyond what some thing are Socialist Left and TeaParty Right Politics.

COMMON GOOD…. I’ve seen you post that “individuals are the ones that count the most” and preserving what’s yours and mine comes before the “COMMON GOOD”…because “common good” smacks of Socialism
and maybe Communism. I see other thoughts from you that might make it seem that, in your heart, you are more nuanced in your thinking than your views you put out there which might come across as more partisan and overheated in rhetoric than might be the case.

At any rate…read the Huffington Post Investigative Report which is another “shoe to drop” about what’s been going on.

I might ask: Did you have a problem with Enron’s Implosion and the traders trashing “Aunt Millie” and cheering as the Power Grid in California caused Brown Outs and cost California a Governorship along with millions suffering with inflated Electric Bills? The latest from Huff Post along with Naked Capitalism and Barry Ritholtz and others exposure of what our Bailed Out on our Taxpayer Dollers Banksters are up to these days is something that I never thought I’d ever see. And, I don’t see how you could make excuses or partisan arguments about the “seeming” criminality and “crimes against the people” that these revelations show.

But, if you have good “counter evidence” then I and others would be willing to listen…so far there’s not much push back except TeaParty rhetoric…

“The basis for our foreclosure decisions is accurate”. This statement leaves a lot unsaid, the basis might be accurate, but the devil is in the details, and they may not have the documentary evidence to prove it.

Listening to BR and Chris the only real disagreement was about how directly the US would have to become involved to solve this pwobwem.

Another interesting point was that fundamentally it is a state issue and the states might impose FC freezes even though Team O’Bama doesn’t favor a national freeze.Timely statewide freezes could help incumbents on the bubble.

It sounds like BAC wants to provide authorities with a fait accompli regarding FCs hoping it won’t result in widespread do-overs esp in the big foreclosure states.

Selling foreclosed properties in places like FL is going to be a tough sell whenever and however they resume, buyers have been forewarned.

As the guy’s said where is the political response to this? Years ago the other party would jump on this shit. They are totally silent which speaks volumes. There is already a third party and it has the other two by the balls.

In North Carolina, Attorney General Roy Cooper’s office is reviewing the state’s top 15 mortgage companies’ foreclosure processes to make sure they are fair and legal. The state has also joined a multistate investigation into the management of the foreclosure process by mortgage servicers.

Cookson says if North Carolina is serious about curbing abuses it needs to impose penalties on mortgage servicers that don’t follow the rules.

“Right now, nothing happens to these people,” he said. “If at least there are penalties imposed, that gives us on the other side something to push for.”

A number of mortgage lenders and industry analysts have said they expect the issues related to foreclosures to be resolved within weeks.

But Jack Lloyd, head of Legal Aid of North Carolina’s mortgage foreclosure prevention project, said fixing the mess will take longer.

“We’ve been dealing with this stuff for so long it’s hard to say they’re just going to stop for a month and get things straight,” he said. “Well, they can’t get things straight in a month. They can’t get things straight that quickly because what is going to have to happen in these cases is going to require a lot more time and a lot more work.”

Lloyd said many of the questionable practices that have been exposed in recent weeks are not new.

“It’s the volumes that have increased, and that makes people pay attention to it,” he said.

Consumer-rights attorneys say more oversight of loan assignments also is needed to ensure that they are properly recorded.

Who has the note?

Much of the current confusion stems from a lack of clarity about who owns and holds the notes on mortgages.

In order for lenders or mortgage servicers to legally foreclose on a house, they must go before a clerk of court and prove a debt is owed and they’re the holder of the note. An affidavit is typically provided to show that proof.

Before the emergence of mortgage-backed securities, which are bundles of home loans packaged and sold off to Wall Street investors, the owner and the holder of a mortgage note were often one in the same.

That is no longer the case.

Cookson said most people assume the bank servicing their loan also owns and holds the note on their mortgage. But their loan has probably been securitized, meaning it is now owned by an investment group.

That investment group then hires a loan-servicing company to hold the note and handle foreclosure proceedings against a delinquent borrower, meaning their identity may never be revealed in property records or during the foreclosure process.

“Figuring out who owns and holds these notes — it’s a huge problem,” Lloyd said. “The parties who are proceeding don’t know themselves who the holder is a lot of the times. And that’s why they’re getting into trouble with affidavits.”

Though the nefarious activities of some people have drawn headlines in recent weeks, Lloyd said, they are likely the exceptions.

“Are there really bad guys that are out there doing this stuff? Yes,” he said. “On a smaller level, and affecting probably a lot more people across North Carolina, are the affidavits that are being signed in ignorance.”

The fact that some loan-servicing companies are now having their business practices called into question is largely the result of a growing cooperation among attorneys who represent consumers, said O. Max Gardner III, a bankruptcy lawyer in Shelby.

He said it costs about $5,000 to take a deposition these days, money most homeowners facing foreclosure do not have.

“It’s a very expensive proposition,” Garner said. “I think the decision was made that these line workers, ‘robo signers’ if you want to call them that, that they would probably tell the truth if they were put under oath about what they were really doing. They probably didn’t really know that much about what they were doing from a legal point of view.”http://www.poten.com/NewsDetails.aspx?id=1071376

Caroline Herron, a former Fannie vice president who returned to the mortgage giant in 2009 as a high-level consultant, claims that the homeowner-relief effort was marred by delays, missteps and executives preoccupied with their institution’s short-term financial interests.

“It appeared that Fannie Mae officers were focused on maximizing incentive payments available to Fannie Mae under various federal programs – even if this meant wasting taxpayer money and delaying the implementation of high-priority Treasury programs,” she claims in the lawsuit.

What had been dreadful about Brian and Ilsa’s case was that, though they qualified for HAMP—and indeed, HAMP had contacted them, at least initially—they were given the bureaucratic runaround for several months, before they were finally allowed into the program.

And then, three months after their mortgage had been lowered, with no warning, they were told that they in fact did not qualify—even though the program fit them like a glove.

Indeed, the program had been tailored for people exactly like them: Retirees, who had suffered unforseen medical expenses on top of having their house go underwater. People who weren’t looking for a handout, but just to refinance so as to take advantage of the now-lower interest rates, and thereby lower their monthly payments.

But now, the bank was saying that they didn’t qualify. Out of the blue, no explanation, no appeal, nothing: They simply no longer qualified. To add insult to injury, they were also told that not only did they owe the difference in mortgage payments—they also now owed a penalty fee, for “incomplete payment”.

Then, they and I both discovered that a lot of the people who were initially said to qualify for HAMP in fact did not qualify—they were added to the program so that banks and servicers could collect Federal government bonuses, then bumped off the program once their three-month “trial mod” was over.

It didn’t matter if they qualified or not—it was all just some sort of sick game with these people, done so that they could get some of that Federal government bonus money. The proof of this was the undisputed testimony of a whistleblower—whose testimony was of course ignored by the mainstream media.

I don’t think I’ve seen a either of you play off another guest as well as you did tonight.
Criss you stepped on Barry a bit and Barry you should have done the impossible and shut down Larry until he answered your “title insurance” question.
Great few minutes of TV.
How about the Criss & Barry show? ARight and Left Centrist show.

What amazes me is how the stock market continues its bull run at the same time that all this devastating news on the banks comes out drip drip drip. I would have thought that the stock market would have tanked on the news that the banks have the potential of melting down as they did in 2008 and this time the government wouldn’t have their banks. I agree with Barry that bankruptcy is the best prescription when their stock prices begin their inevitable slide to zero. Voters will be in no mood for another bailout. It’s time for all the crooks who destroyed the economy to finally join the unemployment lines like everyone else.

Just a little note on style. Being bookended by Larry Kudlow and Whalen is not a good thing. There is an old saying that “no one is listening because you are shouting”. Stay with Bloomberg and perhaps Yahoo if you want to get your point across in a more refined manner.

Furthermore, having a crawler on the bottom of the screen informing the viewer on how many days are left for the Bush Tax Cuts is nauseating.

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About Barry Ritholtz

Ritholtz has been observing capital markets with a critical eye for 20 years. With a background in math & sciences and a law school degree, he is not your typical Wall St. persona. He left Law for Finance, working as a trader, researcher and strategist before graduating to asset managementRead More...

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